Safeguarding

Safeguarding information for parents can be found under Information for Parents / Keeping Children Safe

Children's welfare is a paramount priority to all staff at Granby - both morally and legally. School staff have a legal duty to act in accordance with legislation, Leicester City Council's guidelines, the school's Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Procedures and locally agreed inter-agency protocols. All staff and volunteers who work regularly in school will be subject to the appropriate statutory checks and are appointed under Safer Recruitment procedures.

The Head Teacher is the Designated Safeguarding Leader (DSL) and deals with any child protection concerns. In his absence, the Deputy Head teacher Dale Cross, SENCo Karen Parker or Office Manager Sue Foreman will undertake this role as they are all fully trained as DSLs as well. Any disclosure by a pupil must, by law, be reported immediately to the DSL; any concerns must be similarly dealt with. The DSLs undertake training every two years and ensure that all staff receive regular safeguarding training. At Granby, we provide staff training on an annual basis.

It is everyone's duty to pass on information that helps to safeguard the well-being of the children in our care. Staff reporting any concerns will not necessarily be party to any action taken or the consequences of that action.

All staff should familiarise themselves with a range of relevant policies which are located on the website and our safeguarding procedures which can be found by clicking here:

CPOMS

We use an online tool called CPOMS to log any safeguarding / child protection and a range of other issues. All staff are able to log incidents on the system and should use it as fully as possible. The system can also be used to record communications with parents, SEN issues, and much more. All staff need their own personal log in; and senior staff have a wider access to information stored on the system. Only DSLs can access safeguarding information.

September 2018 update... Keeping Children Safe in Education

The government guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, was updated again in September 2018. The main changes and clarifications are as follows:

Make sure that induction for new staff includes Part 1 of the guidance

Ensure that school holds at least 2 emergency contacts for each child

Familiarise staff with the pupil behaviour policy and the school's safeguarding response to children missing education

Strengthen identification of DSLs and deputies, along with their role in school

Understand that previously Looked After Children remain vulnerable and need special safeguarding consideration

Further checks to be made on school governors

DSLs should be appointed by governors and should be part of the school's management team

Governors must ensure that children are taught about on-line safety

Interview panels must contain at least one person who is 'Safer recruitment' trained

Data should be treated according to legislation and local policy

How to respond to peer-on-peer sexual violence and sexual harassment

This list is not exhaustive and the document should be consulted for more detailed information.

September 2016 update... Keeping Children Safe in Education

The Government guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, was updated in September 2016. All teaching and support staff have received training to develop their understanding of Part 1 of the document: Information for all school and college staff . The current version of the document can be accessed here.

Female Genital Mutilation

Staff have undertaken training on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and are instructed to be alert to the possible signs that a child has been subjected to FGM or is at risk of being abused through FGM. Staff are expected to take timely action in any case where a girl is suspected of being at risk, especially (but not solely) in the run up to the school summer holidays, known as the 'cutting season'. Since October 31st 2015, there has been a mandatory duty on school staff to report FGM.

Prevent Duty

Staff are also trained to be alert to the possibility of children being drawn into terrorism under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The Act places a duty on schools to ensure that staff have the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. A leaflet for parents can be downloaded here.

Confidentiality

Staff are required to ensure that all information concerning pupils and any matters relating to school are kept confidential and not shared with any third parties. The General Data Protection Regulations come into force from May 2018 and we are currently preparing for compliance in relation to this.